


At His Beck and Call

by katikat



Category: White Collar
Genre: Crack, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-02
Updated: 2010-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-08 15:23:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katikat/pseuds/katikat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal experiences a 'light-bulb moment'...</p>
            </blockquote>





	At His Beck and Call

There was a boom of laughter in the living room and Neal turned to the door separating the kitchen from the dining room and glared at it.

"Sometimes I think your husband's enjoying the fact that he has me at his beck and call way too much," Neal said, disgust tingeing his voice.

Elizabeth grinned and smeared a small cracker with a pink, sweet smelling pate. "Oh, you love it, admit it." Then she reached out, offering the cracker to Neal. "Open up!"

Taking a bite from her fingers, Neal chewed slowly, then licked his lips and smacked them. "Six," he said. "Too much sugar."

Elizabeth took a pen and wrote down the number next to the caterer. "I'm happy that he's there," she pointed in the direction of the living room with the pen, "with Jones watching a game, rather than here with me helping me choose a caterer. I love my husband dearly but he really does not appreciate fine cuisine."

Neal nodded. "It's the cheap beer, it's destroyed his taste-buds." He took a sip of water from his glass to wash away the aftertaste. "But still, making me fulfill his marital duties? That's not exactly professional."

"Marital duties, huh?" Elizabeth said, her eyes flashing mischievously. "Well, well, well, I didn't know that Peter had it in him!"

Neal's eyes widened. "That's not what I meant!"

Elizabeth grinned. "Relax," she said, patting his hand, and offered him another cracker, this one smeared with something yellow.

Neal chewed slowly, considering the taste carefully. "Eight. Slightly on the fishy side but good enough to pass around after everybody gets properly drunk."

Making another note, Elizabeth continued. "And I thought you left the professional stage of your relationship behind a long time ago."

Neal raised his eyebrows, taking another sip of water. "A long time? Elizabeth, we've been working together less than a year," he reminded her.

"Oh, I'm not talking about your working relationship," she said, waving her hand. "I meant before that."

This time Neal frowned. "Before what?"

Elizabeth looked up from the tiny cups of pate on the table in front of her with a surprised look on her face. "Neal, he had been chasing you for three years. Someone just had to mention your name in connection with something and he dropped everything and raced across the country. And when he finally caught you? He went and put in a good word for you! If that's not personal, then I don't know what is."

"Good word?" Neal asked in confusion.

"Oh, Neal," Elizabeth said patiently. "Why do you think they tried you just for forgery and dropped everything else from breaking and entering to theft and I don't know what else?"

Neal blinked a couple of times. "Peter talked to the prosecutor?" he asked softly.

Elizabeth smiled. "And to the judge and to everybody who was willing to listen."

"But... why?"

Elizabeth gave him a fond, but exasperated look. "Because, believe it or not, he does not actually want to see you rot in jail."

Neal was frowning. "But he arrested me," he objected.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and leaned forward. "Because you were breaking the law. You were a criminal and it's his job to catch criminals. But that doesn't mean he took any pleasure in sending you to jail."

"I... don't get it."

Elizabeth hung her head for a moment, then looked up. "Okay, I will spell it out for you - he likes you. He's so fond of you it's ridiculous. And until I met you, I didn't really understand it. But now..." She shook her head and looked at him with the same fond expression that sometimes appeared on Peter's face when he watched Neal.

At that moment, Peter pushed in through the swinging door from the dining room, two empty beer bottles in hands, his goal obvious. But taking one step into the kitchen, he froze. Both Elizabeth and Neal were watching him - El with an affectionate amusement, Neal with a certain puzzled curiosity that he reserved for riddles waiting to be cracked - it made Peter feel highly uncomfortable.

"What?" Peter asked slowly.

Elizabeth waved her hand. "Oh, nothing, honey. Neal just experienced a 'light-bulb moment'." She grinned cheekily while Neal looked at Peter as if he was seeing him for the first time.

Peter still had no idea what was going on and he decided he really didn't want to know - it was better for his sanity. Taking on one of them was bad enough; but both El and Neal was downright dangerous. Grabbing two fresh beers from the fridge, he beat a strategic retreat.

The End


End file.
